Another step forward in the development of optical burners had been done by Nichia, a well known laser diode manufacturer.

On an interesting news, Nichia reported the development of high power violet semiconductor laser diodes corresponding to a double-layer disc at more than 12x record speed or a quad-layer disc at more than 2x record speed applied for the next generation DVD recorders.

As reported in the news, estimated life time exceeded 10,000 hours and stable operation was achieved for 1000 hours with the condition of 420 mW pulsed operation at 80°C case temperature.

No information is available (yet) about prices or availability.